


This is My Kingdom Come

by allhalethekings



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, possessed!derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-27 03:09:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1712747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allhalethekings/pseuds/allhalethekings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The demon paused to peer at Stiles. “After the fire, Derek became hardened. Vigilant. Kept his walls up so damn high that it would have been impossible to get to him. But you know what changed?” </p><p>Stiles shuddered but shook his head slowly. “It was you, Stiles. Come on, I thought that would have been obvious seeing as how you’re the one here all tied up,” it said, pouting. “You brought all his walls down, one by one.” </p><p>The demon gave a short chuckle. “It was kind of pathetic to feel him pine for you. I mean here I am, taking over his mind, his body – his everything, really – and all our dearest Alpha could think of was…you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is My Kingdom Come

**Author's Note:**

> Based on two prompts that I thought fit quite well together.  
> Prompt 1: What if the person you'd take a bullet for was the one holding the trigger?  
> Prompt 2: This [gifset](http://hashtaglikeawolf.tumblr.com/post/79435275813/tylerhobriens-god-hes-just-trying-so-hard-to) by tylerhobriens.
> 
> Also, note that I'm not an expert on panic attacks. I'm not 100% sure if it's possible to have an anchor that you can rely on if you're dealing with an attack alone so apologies if I'm mistaken on that account!
> 
> Title taken from Demons by Imagine Dragons.

The Hale house was eerily empty this Saturday night.

Most Friday nights were pack nights with a mandatory dinner attendance. They would all pile into the house around by five in the evening and like clockwork, they start working on the dinner and movie.

Boyd, Stiles, and Isaac usually decided on the movie that followed the dinner while Allison, Lydia, and Erica shuffled through the various takeout menus before deciding what to order for the night. Scott and Derek would help wherever need, albeit grudgingly. It served them right that they were almost always left with cleanup duty while the rest of the pack tumbled around the living room, occasionally breaking to snap pictures of the mighty Derek Hale in yellow kitchen rubber gloves.

Okay, so maybe that was only Stiles but still. That never got old.

But tonight was different.

For the past few days, Derek had been absent from the pack. No one had heard from him since Wednesday and while he was known to occasionally disappear for a couple of days, he always messaged Stiles or Isaac telling them of his whereabouts. Especially Isaac. He knew Isaac needed the stability and security that only Derek seemed to provide so Derek made sure that Isaac knew exactly where he was if he ever left and kept him updated regularly.

But this time was different. Isaac had tumbled through Stiles’s window on Thursday night shaking because he couldn’t feel Derek anymore. After calling Scott to calm Isaac, they messaged Boyd and Erica and both betas reaffirmed Isaac’s claim.

Derek was gone.

-

“Anything yet?” Scott asked, dropping in the seat beside Stiles.

“Nope.” Stiles had been checking his phone every chance he got throughout the entire day but there was still no word from Derek.

Isaac whimpered and, as if on cue, all three betas reached out to him.

Stiles bit his lip. It really wasn’t like Derek to go radio silent on the pack and it was really unsettling. After all the shit that had happened in the past year, they had all stabilized as a pack. No more secrets and no more going around each other’s backs.

It had taken Scott and Derek a while to trust each other, especially after the whole Gerard Argent debacle but Stiles had made sure there was peace in the (Hale) kingdom. Once Scott and Derek started to work like a well-oiled machine, the entire pack had come together seamlessly.

“Has Allison mentioned anything?” Lydia asked.

“No, I texted her last night and she said her dad hadn’t heard anything either. She did say that they’d put their feelers out there though,” Scott shrugged.

“So where do we go from here?” Erica wondered, rubbing Isaac’s hand with her thumb. They all shifted their focus between Scott and Stiles. While it was no secret that Scott was Derek’s second, Stiles played a key role in strategizing any plans the pack made.

Stiles looked at Scott and sighed. “Let’s do a perimeter run after school around all of Beacon Hills and then meet back at my house. If you guys come up with nothing, then we shift our focus to the Preserve. Lydia can work with the Argents to see if they’ve heard of anything from the hunters in nearby areas and I can ask my dad to see if there’s been anything weird happening around town.”

“Agreed,” Scott said. “I know the Camaro is still at the Hale house so it’s unlikely that Derek left the state. With any luck, it might be that he had to make an impromptu visit to one of the other nearby packs and he couldn’t get the chance to let us know. 

It was a decent theory but one that nobody in the pack believed to be true.

-

As soon as school finished for the day, the pack gathered back at Stiles’s locker and went over the plan one more time before going their respective ways. Stiles checked his phone one last time before jumping in the Jeep and speeding home. If he was fast enough, he would catch his dad just in the nick of time before he left for his shift. 

Stiles wasn’t sure what was going on but there was a deep unsettling feeling in his stomach. It had taken him and Derek a long time to get comfortable with each other. While it was true that Scott and Derek had the biggest issues between them, Stiles knew that there was no way the Alpha would ever bonded with Scott the way he did with Stiles.

Stiles figured that’s what happens when you end up saving a person’s life more than you can count on both hands. Getting Derek to trust him and to see him as a valuable part of the pack, independent of Scott, was like pulling teeth but it had been so so worth it in the end.

He wasn’t sure when it happened but somewhere along the way, he was almost certain that he had began to express feelings for the grumpy wolf.

Feelings. Of the non-platonic variety. Obviously. Stiles gripped the steering wheel tighter and forced himself to stay calm. He had to be objective about this. He can’t afford to let his feelings dictate his actions.

This was Derek. 

They had to find him in one piece. They just did.

He rubbed his face as he turned on to his street and sighed in relief upon seeing his dad’s cruiser still in the driveway as he neared his house. His dad came out of the house just as he jumped out of the Jeep.

“Dad! He-ey, I’m so glad I caught you! Are those new shoes? They look so nice and shiny!” 

_Smooth, Stilinski. Real smooth._

The Sherriff only raised an eyebrow in return and sighed.

“Stiles, sometimes I wonder what really goes on in that head of yours,” his dad muttered, shaking his head. “And then I tell myself that it’s really better if I don’t know.”

Stiles plastered the biggest smile he could on his face. 

“What did you do now? Whose call should I be expecting?” His dad asked, crossing his arms against his chest, giving him his best Sherriff look.

“Nothing! I did nothing and nobody’s going to call you with anything. Gosh, can’t a son compliment his father’s work attire anymore? What kind of a world do we live in that I can’t even tell my dad that his shoes look good? Sheesh, dad. It’s not like—“

“Stiles.”

“Right. So I was just wondering if there’s anything weird going on?” Stiles did his best to look aloof but if there was one person he couldn’t lie to, it was his dad. He prayed to the universe that his dad wouldn’t ask more questions but he knew that he didn’t have that kind of luck.

He was proved right when his dad leveled him with a pronounced Sherriff stare.

“What’s going on?”

“Um, nothing!” When his dad didn’t say anything, Stiles ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Okay, fine. Sheesh, way to Sherriff your own son. Derek’s missing.”

The Sherriff frowned. “You think it’s something supernatural?”

Stiles shrugged. “We don’t know. The Argents haven’t heard or seen anything and the betas said that they can’t feel Derek anymore.” At his dad’s confused look, he explained, “Usually, a pack forms a sort of an emotional connection to the Alpha. When something happens to the Alpha or any other member of the pack, that specific connection breaks and you can feel that break. If something happens to a beta, the Alpha feels the break in connection more strongly than the other betas but when something happens to the Alpha, all the betas of the pack can feel the break.”

His dad nodded slowly, trying to wrap his head around pack dynamics. Stiles didn’t blame him. It had taken him a lot of research to be able to hash out all these details and he didn’t expect his dad to understand everything right away.

But patience is a luxury that he couldn’t exactly afford right now.

“So anything weird?”

“Not yet but I’ll keep an eye out,” his dad said finally. Stiles nodded and gave his dad a small smile. “How long has he been gone for?”

“Since Wednesday night? Isaac didn’t feel the break until Thursday night though. Usually Derek messages me or Isaac if he’s going anywhere but he hasn’t gotten in touch at all and his Camaro is still at the house.”

His dad hummed. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, son. Like I said, I’ll keep an eye out for anything supernatural and let you know. Now, I’d love to chat more but—“

Stiles nodded. “Oh yeah, work. Right. Well thanks, anyways.”

“Be safe, son. Don’t make any stupid decisions and for the love of all that is pure and good, call me if you run into any trouble. Your friends may have enhanced abilities but you don’t.” With one last look, the Sherriff stepped into the cruiser and drove away.

Stiles sighed and checked his watch. Scott and the other betas should be returning from their perimeter run any time soon. He checked in with Lydia and Allison but neither had any insights on the matter. He moved further into the house, throwing off his sneakers before pounding up the stairs to his room.

He had just taken no more than five steps into his room before he felt a large blow on the back of his head. “What the—“ he rasped before falling to his knees and promptly blacking out.

-

Fuck.

Stiles lifted his head and flinched at the sudden pain shooting up the back of his neck. He blinked rapidly before moving his head around slowly to get rid of the stiffness he felt in his neck.

It was only when he tried to move his hand to rub his neck that he realized he was tied down to a chair. A second later, he had another realization; his mouth has been duck-taped. 

The pain in his head has been reduced to a dull throb and he wriggled the best he could but there was no point. Whoever had tied him up had done a damn good job. He gave up on trying to get loose and finally looked around at his surroundings.

He was in an apartment but he didn’t know whose. He was certain he had never seen this place before. There was a musty-looking sofa nearby that was covered in dust and a couple of end tables on either side. The walls were painted a pale yellow and there were distinct marks on them where he supposed photo frames must have been placed.

There was a large bay window to his right side but it was covered with dark red curtains, which forbid the entrance of the daylight into the apartment. It also made it difficult for him to pinpoint where in Beacon Hills he could be. From what he could tell, the apartment was probably abandoned.

His mind raced as he tried to think of any apartment complexes that might have abandoned apartments in them but thanks to the particularly painful blow to his head earlier, he couldn’t come up with anything.

Which—wait.

How long has he been here exactly? What about the others? Were they okay? And oh God, what about his dad? As his mind raced with this train of thought, he began to feel lightheaded. 

Shit.

Shit.

He could feel his chest begin to tighten, as his breaths got more and more labored. No—no. Fuck. He could not be getting a panic attack now. No. Shitfuckdammit. Stiles shut his eyes and clenched his teeth. He struggled against the ropes harder and harder but it didn’t do anything.

He forced himself to focus on smiles. His mom’s smile. His dad’s smile. Scott. Lydia. Boyd. Erica. Allison. Isaac.

Derek.

He focused on Derek’s smile. Derek never smiled much but there were times where he would shoot Stiles small, private smiles when the pack’s attention was elsewhere. Stiles focused on those. He focused on the crinkles that would appear in the corner of Derek’s eyes. He focused on the rare flash of the bunny teeth.

He focused on how his heart fluttered every time he was graced with soft look from the Alpha and how his stomach would tighten when those soft looks were directed towards someone in the pack when nobody but Stiles paid any attention to Derek.

With each passing thought, Stiles could feel his heart settling down. His eyes were still shut but his breaths began to get normal. After a couple of slow, deep breaths, he opened his eyes.

He could feel his eyes begin to water as he realized that Derek had somehow managed to become his anchor.

It was then that he heard a soft click from behind him. He struggled against the rope with more and more desperation but he knew that every attempt was futile.

“It won’t work, you know. You can try all you want.”

Stiles stilled.

No. No, no, no, _oh god_ , please - 

He couldn’t twist his head all the way around but he prayed that this was all just a sick nightmare that he's going to wake up from soon. The footsteps drew closer and he closed his eyes, refusing to see the face he dreaded.

“Oh come on, Stiles. Closing your eyes isn’t going to change anything,” the familiar voice mocked. Stiles whimpered and clenched his eyes even harder.

The footsteps drew closer to him and he could feel a warm finger running down the side of his face. He flinched away but the hand clasped his chin and wrenched his face up.

“Open your eyes, Stiles. I want you to see this,” the voice whispered. When Stiles refused, it snarled. “I said open your eyes!” The hand on his chin tightened so painfully that his eyes flew open.

 _Derek_.

Standing in front of him was _Derek_. But at the same time, it wasn’t. It was his body – his hands, his eyes, his face, his _everything_ – but it was not the Derek Hale he had come to know. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had transpired in the last couple of days. Stiles trembled at the thought. Shit like this wasn’t supposed to happen anymore. They’d survived the Argents together. The kanima, the Alpha pack, Jennifer. _They had paid their dues, dammit_. They had been faced with bad shit for so long – sometimes it seemed like all the bad shit in the world made it a mission to come up to Beacon Hills in an effort to tear the pack apart seam by seam. But they had survived it all because they were _all_ in this together. 

But this? This was an entirely different game.

Derek hummed and looked at him through his lashes. He dragged a stool from behind Stiles and plopped it in front of him. Derek smiled, but it was a maniacal smile.

“It was really difficult, you know,” he said lightly as he sat down. His lips curved into a tiny smile and his eyes were triumphant. “But Derek – he was still weak. He’d gotten a little too comfortable; a little too trustworthy, really. It’s almost a shame. He has this torrid little affair with a hunter and trusts her a little too much and what happens? She burns his family alive.”

Derek’s eyes gave a maddening glint, like the demon possessing him was so proud of what it had uncovered from the depths of Derek’s mind. “It was beautiful, you know. He remembers every single second of that fire and it was beautiful replaying those moments over and over again until he just…crumbled.”

Stiles sniveled, his eyes beginning to tear up once again. He struggled against the restraints but the demon just gave another pitiful smile, as if to say ‘ _Really? You think that’s going to work?_ ’

The demon paused to peer at Stiles. “After the fire, Derek became hardened. Vigilant. Kept his walls up so damn high that it would have been impossible to get to him. But you know what changed?” Stiles shuddered but shook his head slowly. “It was you, Stiles. Come on, I thought that would have been obvious seeing as how you’re the one here all tied up,” it said, pouting. “You brought all his walls down, one by one.” The demon gave a short chuckle. “It was kind of pathetic to feel him pine for you. I mean here I am, taking over his mind, his body – his everything, really – and all our dearest Alpha could think of was…you.” Now it barked out a laugh and got up.

It moved to somewhere behind Stiles and came back less than a minute later holding a bright red plastic container. Stiles widened his eyes and struggled against the tight rope as hard as he could. “Mmphh – mmmmm!” He tried even harder as the demon uncapped the container and the familiar noxious aroma of gasoline filled the air.

Giving Stiles a dark smile, the demon began to pour the gasoline all over Stiles. The seventeen year-old clenched his eyes shut and bowed his head until his chin rested against the base of his neck. He could feel drips of the gasoline slinking down his back. “Mmphhh!” He cried and struggled but it wasn’t like there was a point.

Once the demon was satisfied, it threw the container to the side, empty, and reclaimed its seat on the stool. Stiles raised his head, crying openly, pleading to the demon to let them both go.

“I can’t let you go,” the demon hummed, fishing out a Zippo lighter from Derek’s jeans and flicked it on. “You see, I’m a demon that feeds on pain.” The demon’s eyes twinkled madly at Stiles. “And I’ve been hungry for far too long, Stiles.”

Stiles watched how enamored Derek’s eyes got at the small flame. It was almost as though it was about to perform the best magic trick in the world – the demon followed the flame with a look that exuded sheer awe mixed with raw power before returning its attention to Stiles.

“You’re it, you know. You’re his weakness,” it said, giving Stiles a curious look. “You’re everyone’s weakness. Derek may be the Alpha but you’re the one that truly ties the entire pack together. If you die, the pain that everyone in this town will feel will keep me sated for _decades_.” It gave a cruel smile. “Interesting how a defenseless little human can be so important.”

Stiles stared at the demon – at Derek. He gave everything he had to will Derek to get power over the parasitic demon raising hell in his mind. And this really was. After everything they had faced together as a pack, this was a special kind of hell that a supernatural creature was putting Derek through and Stiles just crumbled. He was going to die today, he knew that now, but he cried out for Derek.

Derek, who had been forced to watch his entire family die.

Derek, who had held himself responsible for Kate Argent’s actions for years.

Derek, who was about to go through that same kind of hell all over again with Stiles.

His heart ached for Derek, tearing him apart at his core.

The demon smirked lazily, as if it knew what Stiles was thinking. “You love him, don’t you?” After a moment, Stiles gave a small nod. The smirk turned into a large grin as the demon leaned towards Stiles, still playing with the lighter.

“He loves you too, Stiles,” the demon whispered, as if telling Stiles a secret. “But I don’t.” It drew back and huffed out a laugh. "Oh, you should feel him struggle right now. He's trying _so_ hard to escape, it's laughable. He wants to save you but that can't happen now, can it?"  

The demon stood up and suddenly, Stiles could feel the time just standing still. He could still smell the pungent odor of the gasoline all over his body and watched the demon with wary eyes.

The demon flicked the lighter on with a definite movement and gave a slow, dark smile at Stiles. “I’m going to let him watch you burn, Stiles. Like everyone else he has ever loved." 

Stiles could feel his blood thrumming through his veins.

He closed his eyes, holding his breath.

He felt the air around him still. After what seemed like hours, he opened his eyes and blinked up at the demon, which seemed to be unable to move as if it was trapped into an imaginary circle.

“Seriously, Stilinski, we leave you alone for two fucking hours and you get yourself kidnapped by a goddamn demon.” Stiles closed his eyes and let out his breath at the familiar mocking drawl of goddamn Jackson, of all people. “God, you reek, Stilinski.”

“For once, I agree with Jackson,” Lydia huffed, glaring at him as she gently removed the duct tape from his mouth. Stiles felt the ropes tying him to the chair and relaxed for a second before wriggling himself free.

The demon snarled at the interruption. It tried to move towards the trio but –

“Not going to happen,” Lydia smirked. “You’re trapped pretty nicely thanks to a handy, dandy spell from one of our other friends.” At Stiles questioning look, she clarified, “Deaton.”

Stiles rubbed his wrists, trying to reduce the invisible pressure of the rope. “So what now?” His throat was parched.

“Now we perform an exorcism,” the redhead replied, simply, as she smirked at the demon’s attempts to wrestle free of the trap. “Jackson, take Boyd and Erica and get Stiles out of here and back to his house. Send in Scott and Isaac and we’ll deal with our demonized Alpha.”

Stiles expected Jackson to argue back at Lydia’s orders because that’s what he did but to his surprise, he nodded and turned to walk away. Stiles began to walk behind him but turned around for a brief second.

“Is – um, is – will this hurt Derek?” He asked.

Lydia gave him a soft look. “It won’t be easy but he’ll heal.”

Stiles nodded and followed Jackson out.

-

It was almost two in the morning by the time he arrived back at his house with the three werewolves, noticing with a quiet sigh that his father’s cruiser wasn’t in the driveway. The Sherriff was working a double this weekend and wouldn’t be home until the next night. The traditional Friday night dinners with the pack meant that his dad usually spent the night at the office working and

He had been forced to take three extra-long showers once he got back to his house to get every last bit of the gasoline smell out of his body. Both Erica and Boyd had swore up and down that they would make sure he was kept updated with what was happening with Derek and it was only after Jackson growled at him that ‘ _for fuck’s sake, Stilinski, we’re not planning on keeping you away from Derek but both of you need to rest and you’ll see him tomorrow’_ that he finally let the subject go.

Stiles slept but his sleep was by no means peaceful. At multiple points during the night, he had woken up cold sweats after having a nightmare of being burned alive. Every time he woke up, he fumbled around on his bed until he got a hold of his phone and checked it to see if there were any updates on Derek. It was on the fourth check that he found a short message from Lydia.

**From: Lydia**  
 **Sent: 5:14am**  
 _Got it out. He’s fine. Sleeping it off now._

His hands were typing out a message before he could even realize it. _Are you sure he’s fine?_

**From: Lydia**  
 **Sent: 5:16am**  
 _Yes.  
_ _Go to sleep, Stiles._

Stiles stared at the message before taking a deep breath and rubbing his hand down his face. He placed his phone on the nightstand and wriggled back down in his bed, this time a lot more relaxed. He was just beginning to drift off into sleep when he heard the familiar sound of his window being slid open and felt a small draft of cold air. In a flash, he jumped up, fishing out his baseball bat from where he hid it on the side of his bed, ready to swing it at the intruder before he heard the familiar voice.

“Oh my – fuck, it’s me, Stiles!"

“Scott?” Stiles peered at the dark silhouette before flicking his night lamp on. “What the fuck, dude? Are you insane?!”

“You’re the one with the baseball bat, Stiles!”

Stiles sighed. “Yes, Scott. I think given the fact that I was taken from my room not twenty-four hours ago would warrant this reaction, don’t you think?” At this, Scott gave him a sheepish look.

His best friend of thirteen years, ladies and gents.

Stiles turned around to place the baseball bat back in its spot and had barely turned back to Scott before he was engulfed in a tight hug. His arms wound around Scott just as tight and they breathed together, deeply and slowly. They stood like that for what seemed like hours but was probably just minutes before letting go.

“So, are you okay?” Scott asked finally.

Stiles shrugged and sat down on his bed while Scott peered out through the window to make sure there was no other sign of danger, an action that reminded Stiles of Derek. “Been trying to sleep, you know. How’s Derek?” 

“Lydia texted you, right?” Stiles nodded. “The demon was a fucking asshole to exorcise. Took almost twice the amount of time it usually does but Lydia was able to pull it out. Isaac and I took him home and left him with the other betas before I dropped Lydia home on my way here.”

A brief moment of silence fell upon the room. “How’d you guys know where I was?” He asked finally.

“Lydia and Deaton performed a tracking spell,” Scott murmured, the tiredness in his eyes finally showing through, and he yawned. As if he could read Stiles's mind, he added, "Besides, we didn't want to call in your dad until it was absolutely necessary." Stiles nodded. It's the course of action he would have chosen to take as well; getting his dad involved wouldn't really do much and there was no point in worrying him if the pack could handle the situation on their own. 

“You should get some sleep,” Stiles muttered. “You look like shit, Scotty.”

Scott gave him a small smile and nodded before yawning again. “Are you going to be okay on your own tonight? Or do you want me to stay?”

“I should be fine, but thanks.”

“Are you sure?” Scott gave him a meaningful look and smiled at his hesitation. He motioned to the bed. “Scoot over, Stilinski. Let’s get our cuddle on.”

Stiles huffed out a laugh but did as his best friend said. It wasn’t long before they both fell asleep and this time Stiles remained asleep.

-

Scott had finally left mid-Sunday, promising to run the perimeter of Beacon Hills with the other wolves at least twice before the day was over and going to see Deaton about why none of them knew a demon had been in their midst and how it managed to possess their Alpha.

His dad had finally gotten home some time in the afternoon and Stiles was relieved to find that he had no idea what had transpired in the past 36 hours despite Scott’s constant reassurances that they hadn’t told the Sheriff. His dad had enough shit to worry about, thank you very much, and Stiles didn’t want to add to the mess.

The rest of Sunday was spent between lazing around in bed and cracking open his Chemistry book for the midterm the next morning. He did as much research as he could between studying for his midterm and napping on demonic possessions of werewolves and from what he had read, it was unbelievably lucky that they had managed to get it out from Derek.

Demons like those not only used werewolves as hosts but they raised hell in their minds. They feed on their pain and greatest fears. They twist every damn thing in their minds until there aren’t any remnants of humanity left. Eventually, the wolves turned feral and were left to do what the demons coveted most: cause death and destruction.

Stiles shuddered at the thought. They’d dodged a bullet this time. Everyone knew that. Going after a beta or an omega werewolf was one thing. But the Alpha? A feral Alpha would tear the rest of the pack apart in more ways than one.

Stiles turned his attention once again to his Chemistry book but even after three rounds of coffee, nothing was registering in his head. It was almost midnight and he just wanted to go back to sleep, Harris and the midterm be damned. All he could think of was Derek and – 

_“You love him, don’t you?”_

_“He loves you too, Stiles.”_

_“I’m going to let him watch you burn, Stiles. Like everyone else he has ever loved.”_

He felt bile rising up his throat and crossed his room in three large steps to the bathroom. Gripping the sink tightly, he forced himself to breathe slowly. Every single time he closed his eyes, that moment replayed in his head like a damn movie and he could still hear the demon’s laughter in his ears, deep and throaty. Once he calmed down enough, he walked out of the bathroom and over to his desk where his cell phone lay.

**To: Isaac**  
 **Sent: 11:16pm**  
 _Update?_

Isaac wrote back a few minutes later.

 **From: Isaac  
** **Sent: 11:20pm**  
 _Stable. Still sleeping but we can feel him getting better. You?_  

**To: Isaac**  
 **Sent: 11:21pm**  
 _Am ok. Thanks for letting me know._

He wanted to do nothing more than to head over to the Hale house and see Derek. He’d wanted to do it all day but he knew Derek needed time to recover. But still. And of course, then there was that whole ‘love’ issue. He didn’t even know what the hell he was going to do about that.

_“He loves you too, Stiles.”_

Stiles didn’t know what to do when someone he liked (okay, probably loved) felt the same way about him. It had taken him a while to figure out how he felt about Derek but he always figured that this would just be another Lydia situation. He figured that he’d probably pine after the guy until he graduated and then at some point, Derek would find somebody, which would kickstart Stiles’s ‘time-to-get-over-Derek-Hale’ process, much like it had happened with Lydia and Jackson.

But finding out that Derek felt the same way about him? And even that from a demon? He didn’t know what do anymore. Should he just pretend it never happened? Or should they talk? Really, with the latter option it would be more like Stiles talking _at_ Derek while he just stared back looking all constipated and whatnot.

He sighed, knowing that he’s getting ahead of himself here. He needs to focus on making sure that Derek gets better. Everything else can wait.

-

The Chemistry midterm Monday morning had been brutal. Halfway through, Stiles had given up and just bubbled in all Cs before handing it in to Harris’s smug face and hightailing it out of class, avoiding Scott and Lydia’s questioning gaze. It was his senior year and he knew he should care more but given everything that had happened that weekend, Stiles figured he was allowed to blow off one midterm.

He still had another twenty-five minutes before he his next class so he opted to go out to the bleachers instead of roaming around mindlessly in the hallways. Plopping down on a row at the back, he allowed himself to be taken over by the voice of Finstock yelling at some freshmen to _run faster, Anderson, for God’s sake, Greenberg can do better than you_.

“Hey, Stiles!” Stiles shifted his gaze from the field to where Allison was sitting down beside him. He nodded back before looking back towards the field. “How’re you doing?”

Stiles shrugged. “Fine, I guess. Nothing like being faced with the possibility of being burned alive by my Alpha to really start appreciating the simpler times.”

Allison snorted, bringing a smile to Stiles’s face. “Just a normal day in the life of the Hale pack in Beacon Hills.” She added. They stared at each other before breaking down into peals of laughter.

“Have you heard from Derek yet?” Allison asked after they calmed down. Stiles gave another shrug.

“Not really. Isaac has been updating me though. Last I heard this morning, he was still sleeping everything off.” Allison nodded.

“I talked to my dad about it. He said he hasn’t seen one of those demons his entire life but he’d heard horrible stories about it from Gerard and his grandfather. They’re nasty little bastards.”

Stiles looked at her with a raised eyebrow. It was a rare day that he heard Allison swear. As if understanding his look, she shrugged. “Derek’s my Alpha too, you know.” He nodded in return.

“What are you doing here anyways? Don’t you have class?”

“Had a midterm and couldn’t focus so I left early. What’s your excuse, Argent? Aren’t you supposed to be good girl when it comes to school?”

Allison scoffed. “Pretty sure I got away from that reputation when Scott convinced me to blow off the entire day for my birthday a couple of years back. And anyways, I have a spare right now.”

There was a pause for a few minutes before Stiles turned to her again. “Can I ask you a question?” When she nodded, he continued. “How did you know Scott was it for you?”

She squinted at him, before turning to the field.

“When I first met Scott, I was just a girl and he was just a guy that I thought was genuine and cute. Hunters and werewolves and demons were just things on TV. But when – when Kate happened and I found out about Scott and what the name Argent carries in this world, everything changed. And I realized that Scott being a werewolf didn’t take away from what I felt about him. Everything that Kate painted werewolves to be may be true but I knew Scott, you know. He didn’t fit Kate’s mold of werewolves.”

She paused for a bit. “After that, it was easy. We all carry our demons and regardless of everything my family tried to instill in me, I realized I could never turn away from Scott. Does that help?”

After a moment, Stiles nodded.

“Is this about Derek?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, as if she had seen this coming for miles. “You’ll figure it out.”

-

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Lunch was weird with everyone treating him like he was made out of glass, even Jackson for fuck’s sake. They all tiptoed around the conversation and there were no mentions of Derek at all. But Isaac, Erica, Boyd, and Jackson seemed pretty relaxed so he doubted that there was any more trouble so he avoided the topic too.

When he pulled Scott aside after school and asked him if he should go see how Derek was doing, Scott gave him a pained smile.

“I think it would be best if you gave him some time. I know you’re worried but I think it would be better if he had some alone time to adjust to what happened.”

When he asked Lydia the same question, she just gave him a pitiful look that screamed _Oh, honey,_ petted his head and pranced after Allison to the parking lot.

“Thanks for the help, Lyds,” Stiles muttered as he got into his Jeep. He wanted to go home – he did – but all he could think of was heading over to the Hale house. But the betas would be there for training right now and he didn’t want an audience. So he opted to go home to make his dad some dinner and take it to the station. That should keep his mind off Derek for a few hours at least.

-

“Do you want to tell me what this is all about?” The Sheriff asked once Stiles got to the station.

Stiles blinked.

The Sheriff sighed and pointedly motioned to the food that his son brought for him. “Son, you’ve brought enough food to feed this entire station right now. This is you when you’re stressed. You stress-cook. So wanna tell me what this is all about?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about?” Inwardly, Stiles face-palmed. Yes, because phrasing his answer like a question exudes confidence in his story. “Um – “

His dad sat down and grabbed some salad, before motioning for Stiles to take a sit. “Did you find Derek yet?”

Stiles froze, his mind already whirring in all the different ways he could answer the question without having to bring up the whole being kidnapped by a demon and almost being set on fire bit. He opted for a simple nod.

John leaned back and scrutinized his son. “So where was he?”

“Um, he was at one of the old abandoned apartment complexes by the edge of town.” When Stiles offered no more detail, John frowned.

“And what exactly was he doing there?”

“A demon may have possessed him and tried to make him feral?” It wasn’t the whole truth but it was definitely true.

The Sheriff choked and grabbed his water bottle before downing half of it. “ _May_ have?”

Stiles fidgeted in his seat. “Okay – yeah – no, it definitely happened. But Lydia and Scott and Isaac figured it out and dealt with it.”

John hummed and finally asked, “So how’s he now?”

“I think he’s okay. I haven’t really spoken to him for a couple of days so I don’t really know. Isaac said he’s been sleeping the whole thing off.”

His dad nodded. “And this demon has been taken care of? Are there any more its friends flying around here or was it the only one?”

“Deaton said it was only the one,” he answered, running a hand through his hair. The conversation stilled for a bit while his dad finished up his dinner. Stiles wondered if he should ask his dad what he’d asked Allison earlier that day but he wasn’t sure how he’d take to his only son being in love with an Alpha werewolf that was five years older.

…Whom Stiles had accused of murder.

 _Twice_.

His dad coughed and Stiles snapped his attention back to him.

“So are we going to talk about how you’re in love with Derek Hale?”

Stiles choked on air. He opened his mouth to _deny, deny, deny_ but before he could get a word out, his dad held up his hand.

“Don’t even, Stiles. Don’t even try to deny it. I haven’t feasted like this since before you were in the ninth grade and you’d just found out about the whole Lydia and Jackson situation. You’ve been moping this entire weekend.”

Stiles squirmed, knowing his dad was right. Of course he was. His father was a damn good cop and more importantly, was his _father_. He was the only one aside from Scott and Melissa (and his mother, when she was still alive) who could read Stiles like a book.

“I could still be in love with Lydia,” he sniped, narrowing his eyes at his father.

John scoffed and gave him a pointed look. “I’ve seen you with Lydia, son, and you’ve long stopped looking at her like she was your moon and stars.”

Well – okay yeah, there was nothing he could say to that. He struggled to find words that would make this conversation easier but really, what else could he say that his father hadn’t already so aptly stated.

He was in love with Derek Hale and there was really nothing more to it than that.

And so Stiles did the one thing he was good at. He talked.

In return, his father did the one thing he was good at. He listened.

-

By Wednesday night, Stiles was practically squirming non-stop. The talk with his dad had helped a little bit but he still couldn’t sit still for long. The rest of the pack had told him to give Derek some time but it’d been four days now and Stiles was starting to fret. He knew Derek had to have been awake by now – obviously – so why was he going all radio silent on Stiles?

But really, fuck it. Stiles had given him space and not seeing him right away was practically killing him. So without another thought, he jumped into his Jeep – uncaring that it was almost midnight – and broke several laws on safe driving on his way to the Hale house.

Almost as soon as he parked his car and got out, three betas slinked out of the house looking all sorts of uncomfortable like they all heard the murmur of his Jeep. Stiles rolled his eyes. They probably did.

“I think it’s time I see him, you know,” he said simply. Erica looked like she was going to argue but Boyd just nodded, pulling her and Isaac to his car. Stiles liked Boyd. He was practical and understanding. Boyd was a good egg, Stiles decided.

“Just – take care of him, okay?” Isaac mumbled as an afterthought before getting into the car. Stiles smiled. It was cute, really. After everything, he figured Derek deserves unshakable loyalty from his betas. His initial decisions as an Alpha may not have been the best and the rough patch of establishing a pack may have been more rough than it should have been but it was refreshing to see the extent to which his betas will go through to protect their own.

Once they’d left, he turned back to the house and took a shuddering breath. He’d been practicing a speech during the drive but now that he was here, he was blanking hard. But okay – it was now or never.

So really, it was now.

He wondered if he should knock or not once he got to the door but then decided not to. Derek knew he was here. No point in keeping formalities now.

He pushed open the door and peaked in. “Derek?” He didn’t get an answer but he could hear faint shuffling coming from upstairs so he walked in, closing the door behind him. Stiles waited for a moment, wondering if Derek would come downstairs but when it was clear there was no movement from his end, he walked up the stairs gingerly.

Derek’s bedroom was the one at the end of the hallway. It was the biggest one out of them all – which made sense with him being the Alpha and all – and it had a stunning view of the backyard. After things had calmed down for a while, Derek had made it his mission to restore the Hale property to its formal glory. Living in the burnt out ruins and then the abandoned train station was okay if all you wanted was some shelter with the bare minimum but with the pack getting bigger and more cohesive, Derek wanted to show that he was able to provide as the Alpha.

Derek Hale may not have been meant to be an Alpha but he’d be damned if he couldn’t at least try to be the best damn Alpha he could be.

Taking one last deep breath, he knocked on the door. He was about to knock again before he heard footsteps shuffling closer and – um, wow –

“You look like shit,” Stiles blurted and then promptly closed his eyes.

 _Oh my_ – 

His brain had to have a talk with his mouth about this thing called filtering his thoughts. “I mean – uh – you’ve had better days? But I mean you still look – uh – beautiful?”

Derek gave him a pained look, making Stiles shake his head furiously.

“Okay, wait, no. Let me start over. Wow, this is not what I had practiced at all on my way here,” he rambled, giving a short huff. Derek rolled his eyes and moved away so Stiles could come in. Once inside, Stiles took in the state of the room. Clothes were strewn about everywhere, the bed looked like it hadn’t been made in days (it probably wasn’t, let’s face it), and books that had once been categorically organized on the bookshelf took up any inch of floor space that the clothes hadn’t already. How the hell –

Stiles turned back around to Derek and yeah, okay, he understood now. Derek looked like he’d been hit by a truck. His face seemed to lack any color, his eyes were just as lifeless, hollow and pained, and his posture lacked any ounce of authority that it usually carried. Derek stood like he had given up on everything and for once, Stiles had no idea how to speak. He had never seen Derek look so pained and unsure of himself before. He needed assurance that everything was okay but Stiles still couldn’t find any words that would be enough so he did the one thing that he knew may work.

He closed the distance between the two and hugged Derek, winding his arms around Derek’s waist and tucking his head under his chin. He felt Derek tense up the second their bodies made contact and Stiles could feel him just wondering how to get out of the embrace but it just made Stiles hold on that much tighter.

“Don’t even try to get away, asshole. We Stilinskis are infamous for providing comfort in the time of need.”

“I’m not in need,” Derek replied in a strangled voice. Stiles huffed. Clearly the idiot was just going to stand there like a wall. He unwrapped himself from Derek for a brief moment and guided Derek’s limp arms around his waist before stepping back into the embrace, this time with his arms wound tightly around Derek’s shoulders. It only took Derek a second before he completely leaned into Stiles, tucking his face into the crook of Stiles’s neck.

“Clearly you are,” Stiles smirked, carding one of his hands through Derek’s hair.

They must have stood there for what felt like hours but was probably minutes.

“You really scared me,” Stiles finally whispered. He felt Derek tense up again and made sure to hold on to him even tighter just in case Derek tried to let go. He didn’t. Instead, he held on to Stiles just as tightly.

“I’m sorry,” Derek replied, with a hoarse voice. “I – I’m so sorry. I tried – tried so hard to stop it but I – “

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m okay, see? We’re both okay. We both got out fine,” Stiles soothed. He felt Derek shake his head and then Derek suddenly swung back, looking at Stiles with fierce eyes.

“No it’s _not_ ,” he replied furiously. “I tried to burn you _alive_ , Stiles. Do you not understand that? I poured gasoline all over you and I was going to set you on _fire_.”

Stiles shook his head vehemently. He framed Derek’s face with both his hands. “That wasn’t you,” he said firmly. “You had a goddamn demon take over your mind and it was the one doing everything. You were helpless, Derek.”

“I should have tried harder,” Derek argued. “If I wasn’t so weak –“

“Okay _, no_. It said a lot of things to break you, Derek. You’re not weak, okay? You’re never weak. I read up on those demons all weekend. They’re one of the most powerful creatures and it knew exactly how to break you. It played you like a fiddle; you never saw it coming,” Stiles reasoned but Derek shook his head again.

“I should have – “

“Oh, bullshit. That’s like saying we all should have seen it coming. They’re virtually undetectable until they actually possess someone. If you don’t blame us –“ 

“I don’t!”

“ – then you shouldn’t be blaming yourself,” Stiles finished. Derek looked at him with a vulnerable expression and Stiles’s heart just broke. He leaned in and rested his forehead against Derek’s.

“You’re one of the strongest people I know. We’ve all been through shit ever since Scott got bit but you’ve been through so much worse shit. You’ve literally survived your entire family getting burned alive and your sister getting hacked into two thanks to your moronic, power-hungry uncle. And despite all that, Derek, not only have you managed to rebuild one of the strongest packs in the state but you’ve also given all of us a home and a family. You gave Erica, Isaac, and Boyd a chance at having a real family, Derek. You go crazy trying to protect every single one of us every single second, okay? We all see that and we all know that you’d rather die before you hurt anyone of us.”

Stiles took a breath before leaning back enough so he could look straight into Derek’s eyes. “So don’t you dare say you’re weak, okay? You’re strong and brave and loyal and _pure_ ,” he whispered, giving Derek an intense look.

Derek gave him an unreadable look before crushing him back to his body. Stiles smiled into Derek’s neck.

There are more things he wants to talk about. Things that they both need to say out loud. But this, Stiles thinks, this is good enough for now.

Everything else can wait. 

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at something dark. Comment if you have any constructive criticism for me; I'd like to get better at writing fics like this! 
> 
> ALSO. You should come say hi to me on [tumblr](http://allhalethekings.tumblr.com). We should be friends. Yes, let's do that.


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